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The ruling government could hire mercenary companies, criminals could take advantage of the chaos, rival revolutionary groups could form or split off from the movement. Once things get desperate the government could pardon criminals in exchange for military service, work with criminal organizations/gangs, and try to bribe any magicians who stayed neutral. You could also create a group of recurring antagonists, like an NPC adventuring party, who work for the government.
There's also the question over who rules when the dust settles. Are the revolutionaries and magicians really just going to peacefully agree to share power? Or are they going to undermine and manipulate each other throughout the conflict? The war doesn't need to end when the current regime falls.
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I'm just not sure about the "bribe magicians" part. That would spice up some fights for sure, but the government still don't like magic. Thats the reason why they start to forbid it. They think magicians are dangerous and must be killed.
Well it wouldn't need to be a bribe. It could be blackmail, something like "We'll kill [insert family members here] unless you fight for us. You and your family will be exiled from the country after the war is over." Death or imprisonment is ideal, but exile is an option. If the alternative is losing control the government could be willing to alter their policy on magic for a short time.
This could also lead to an encounter. For example a magician forced to work for the government could secretly send a message to the resistance, asking them to save his family. In return he would help the resistance.
In my world, magic works a bit differently and its really hard to explain... But where the magic academy is build, magic energy is stronger than anywhere else and thats why its build there. But I also thought about making a Plottwist there... Just couldn't think about one yet.
I see. I don't know how magic works in your setting, but maybe the government could start dismantling or tampering with the academy. As a result some magic monsters or elementals rampage through the city. The government would try to cover up their involvement and blame the magicians, citing the event as proof magic is dangerous.
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Opportunistic criminals become more prominent. Thugs are brazenly walking the streets and shaking people down. Gang wars flare up as they make moves to take over rival territory.
Revolutions burn out when supplies do. Whatever faction your players end up in can receive missions to take control of vital supply sources (granaries, reservoirs, trade roads, docks) and those areas are sure to be guarded by some of the best around.
Because supplies are tight, sanitation goes down. As a result, swarms of rats can become more common on the streets and even some Otyughs have made their way above the sewers as they are attracted to the new filth.
The magical academy has secretly been studying rituals to call planar allies to aid them in the civil war, but not enough vigilance was used in binding them. Elemental creatures have begun randomly pouring out of the academy, and while the mages are attempting to stem the flow, the elementals have begun attacking anyone and everyone. In the end, the players may be asked to travel through the portal that the elementals are coming out of and return with a relic that would be able to shut down the portal. And it's the players who have to do it; the mages at the academy are too busy making sure the portal doesn't get any bigger.
The faction the players join require spy missions. Plant false evidence here. Kidnap an official there. Scout out a building for a planned assault. Ultimate Intrigue has some good stuff on handling those types of scenarios.
For a change of scenery, the players are asked to seek out and bring back an NPC who would be vital to their faction's efforts. Or maybe it's an artifact that would be used for a greater purpose. This requires the players to leave the city (getting past a blockade to do so) which allows for a myriad of other scenarios. Running into a feral Druid for example.
While they were away, the tension between the rival factions finally snapped and the city is in complete chaos. The PCs must do everything they can to take power or restore peace.
Rumors of a serial killer, taking advantage of chaos, have begun circulating. The players are tasked to investigate, leading to at least one chase scene.
Someone has implicated the PCs of murder or some other highly illegal act. Armed with nothing but their wits and a makeshift lockpick your party rogue smuggled in, they need to escape prison and clear their names before they see the noose.
The PCs could need to protect a VIP, such as a sympathetic official or the revolution's "poster child," while she gives a speech or race across the city to prevent an assassination.
They could fall into a trap and need to escape from a large number of guards or chase after a government informant. I've never used them, but there are chase rules for high speed pursuits. Could be a fun change of pace.
the new owners of the city doesn't like magic very much... Also they have a very strict rule enforcement...
It's kind of difficult to prevent people from using magic if you're not willing to use magic yourself.
So one way to add more varied encounters would be to have the governing forces bringing in an army of not just regular mercenaries but... something else. Golems. Demons. Oni. Rakshasa. Fey. Undead.
the revolutionaries have their hideout down there, because they start pretty small at the beginning. They will move to a bigger hideout later on, but it will start down there. How do I explain, that the Otyughs etc didn't just attacked them, when they were all down there?
Possibility: the revolutionaries are hiding in a place only accessible through narrow passages. The Otyughs are large-sized creatures so they can't get in. Trying to explore to the rest of the sewer network is dangerous because the passageways are larger, but it would be extremely useful for gaining access to more of the city.
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More to the point though, if the current government is anti-magic they’re going to have a short lived rule. It’d be practically impossible for them to suppress enough magic users without resorting to magic themselves.
You’ll have to come up with some excuse or solution to that can explain away not only WHY the people in power are against magic, but also HOW they’re maintaining their power during a civil war versus magic users.
I'd highly recommend thumbing through Ultimate Intrigue for ideas. The recommendations for social play and the rules for "Social Duels" is perfect for a city-based game that focuses on regime change.
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You don't have to use the entire book for Ultimate Intrigue. I would just recommend the advice they give about Bluff, Intimidate, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive. I don't have the book in front of my right now, but reading that helped me apply those skills more effectively as both a player and GM.